How God Baptized Me with the Holy Spirit

Praise the Lord! You know, one family was supposed to give a testimony today, to testify to what God has done in their lives, but they have fallen ill. And so today I listened in a special way to brother Peter, who said that we truly carry God’s testimony within us in our lives. Each of us has something to tell for edification, for the glory of God. Isn’t that right? There they were on their way: the manna appeared, and they put it in the ark. They went on: God gave them the commandments, and they put those in the ark (Exodus 16:33-34; Hebrews 9:4). And what is in our ark today, in ours? Today there is a testimony, praise God. And I would like us to practice this in our meetings: prepare your testimonies, speak them out; maybe one is already burning in you right now. But since things have turned out this way, I want to begin with my own.

I am very grateful to you for your love, for your greetings, for your prayers. But on this very day, November 4, when I turned twenty-three, what happened was not simply my birthday, the kind we usually celebrate and thank God for. I will tell you about it. It was forty-one years ago, and on that day God baptized me with the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah!

And do you know how it happened? I was very zealous for it. I would ask the brothers and sisters; it was not that anyone was calling me forward, I was the one calling them: pray for me, I want the Holy Spirit. It was through the Holy Spirit that I came to believe in Jesus Christ in the first place: here is my mother, who gave birth to me, and God baptized her with the Holy Spirit, and on that day I believed; that was a testimony for me. And so I am zealous, I pray, and nothing. We get down on our knees, then, and still nothing.

And I remember, I am riding home on a Saturday; it was November 3, 1979. It was evening, and I was on my way home from the prayer house. I am sitting there, and it took a full two and a half hours just to get home. Such were the journeys in those days. And so, you know, I am sitting in the metro and thinking it over. I say: Lord, so many times I have asked You, so many times I have prayed for You to fill me with the Holy Spirit, and still nothing. Do you know what I said then? I say: Lord, tomorrow is my birthday. Tomorrow. People will give me presents. Well, you know what kind of presents those were, not like the gifts people give now: your parents would give you some candy, make some tea, a little cake. But a present all the same; sometimes they could give something special too, maybe someone would be given a watch. And so I am reasoning like this, and I say: Lord, people give presents on this day, and You said that this is the gift of the Holy Spirit. Will You really not give me the Holy Spirit on my birthday? That cannot be! You know, that is how I spoke to God.

I ride along, thinking it over in the metro, and I picture myself gathering the brothers and sisters around me once again, and they are praying. I can almost see it: there they are, praying; I think, I look, and they have already grown tired, well, they cannot pray for that long, they have gone off somewhere. But I am still standing there praying, and suddenly something dropped into my heart. Just as we were saying about that manna, about that staff: plunk! You know, like a quarter into a piggy bank, right? Plunk! Faith. Not the kind of faith I had before: maybe it will happen, maybe it won’t, well, I hope so. This was something firm.

After that I came home. I walk in, and my mother meets me. There she is, the witness, right? Wave your hand so they can see you. I say: Mama, tomorrow God is going to baptize me with the Holy Spirit. Do you know what she said? “Well, son, if not tomorrow, then the day after; if not the day after, well, He will baptize you.” I say: Mama, you don’t understand. She did not know that I had faith, the faith of God. You know, like that mustard seed (Matthew 17:20): it may be small, but you feel it, you see it. This is the faith brother Norris was speaking about today. And you know how this gladdens the Lord. I say: tomorrow.

And so when we arrived, I remember it was the breaking of bread, Sunday, my birthday, and afterward we went to my grandfather’s apartment; he lived not far from the church. And we all stood up to pray for the baptism with the Holy Spirit. And I look at all these people and think: you don’t know, I have faith! You have no idea: we are about to pray now, and you will not leave this place. And that was that. You know, I got down on my knees and thought: well, now I am going to… after all, one has to ask God properly, one has to ask. And no sooner had we knelt than God, just like that, baptizes one person, a second, a third, a fifth. And I am standing there thinking: what is this? How can this be? Why is God not baptizing me with the Holy Spirit? I have faith!

You know, I even, well, usually we stand on our knees, but I sank right down onto my heels. And as soon as I sat down, suddenly it was as if someone breathed in. It turns out that God, remember, breathed on them and said: receive (John 20:22), right? And as for us: receive, breathe in, breathe in the Holy Spirit! I breathed Him in. And how I began to pray! And those were hard times, to be praying in an apartment. You know, I prayed so loudly that I lost my voice. Imagine, and people are listening. People sometimes used to tell me, you pray so loudly in church. Well, now I pray more quietly. But the heart is rejoicing!

My father, you know, kept birds; we had many cages with all kinds of birds. They would chirp away to themselves. But when we went in, we had a small kitchen, and that is where they sat, I remember noticing: my mother and I would go in, close the door, and as soon as we began, I look, and the birds are singing like that, louder than us, it seemed, feeling the presence of God too. Do you understand? And the fire is burning. That is how wonderful it was.

So faith is needed, brothers and sisters. We will all receive; faith is needed. Right now many are troubled: how can this be? So many prayers, so much going on with the president. Listen, what does Scripture tell us? Whom must we look to? Who is our leader? Who is the finisher of our faith? Who is the author of faith? Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:2). The last word is His. Do you hear? They often say one thing and then another, but He has the first word and the last word. Amen. And we put our hope in His word. We do not know, but God can do wonders. He is the God of wonders. Hallelujah! So let us look to the Lord, not lose heart, not despair.

Well then, many people, I have met them: “I have already prayed and prayed, and still…” Wait, keep on praying. “But how long can one go on?” As long as it takes, that is how long. That is how we must pray. Amen. With faith, with zeal, let us turn to God. May the Lord help us.